


Too Cramped To Be Comfortable

by Catnip_3



Series: Merlin Angst & Hurt/Comfort [3]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Angst, Arthur Gives Merlin A Massage, Cages, Fluff, Guilty Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Guilty Knights of the Round Table, He Feels Really Bad Guys, Horses, Hurt Merlin (Merlin), Hurt/Comfort, Kidnappers - Freeform, Merlin Was Kidnapped!, Metal cages, Slave traders - Freeform, They Not Gay Tho ;), Traumatized Merlin, Worried Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), forest, just bromance, sore muscles, stew
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-10
Updated: 2021-01-10
Packaged: 2021-03-13 19:40:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,720
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28658874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Catnip_3/pseuds/Catnip_3
Summary: Merlin had been missing for days and finally Arthur and the knights tracked down the slave traders that had taken him. He was worried his best-friend would be beaten to hell but now he knows there's something else that he should be worrying about.Arthur refuses to believe that this scared and quiet man curled up in a metal cage is his bright-eyed and cheery manservant, Merlin.Arthur swears that he will get Merlin back, no matter how long it takes or what it takes. Even if that means giving his best friend a massage to relax his tense muscles.
Relationships: Gaius & Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Gaius & Merlin (Merlin), Knights of the Round Table & Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Knights of the Round Table & Merlin (Merlin), Merlin & Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Series: Merlin Angst & Hurt/Comfort [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2048090
Comments: 6
Kudos: 84





	Too Cramped To Be Comfortable

**Author's Note:**

> **Heyo Part 3! This is classic hurt/comfort with Arthur being very nice this time :)**
> 
> **This popped into my head during a car ride and I couldn't get it out since so I guess thank the car for this idea lol.**
> 
> **ALSO: I’ve created a new Tumblr account for this Ao3 account! More info about it is in the end notes!!!**

They searched for days, scouring the forest without a break. None of the knights complained, they all wanted to find Merlin as fast as possible.

They were on a routine patrol to some of the smaller villages when it happened. They camped out in the forest and all fell asleep, foolishly thinking there wouldn’t be danger near a village. They were horribly wrong and Merlin paid the price. 

They only took Merlin and at first Arthur was puzzled until Gwaine grimly explained it; they were slave traders. 

As days wore on, Arthur’s thoughts became darker and darker until one night Percival found some tracks. It was their last hope, they had no idea if it would be the traders or not but Arthur was desperate. 

Luck managed to be on their side, the group of slave traders easily recognizable. The attack was simple and most of them fled with their belongings, worrying more about their things than those captured. 

It was a sad sight to see as the knights freed men and women of all ages and races. Arthur let the knights handle them, he was looking for a certain friend. 

He couldn’t see a tuft of black hair in the groups of people chained up and dread pooled in his stomach until he saw a group of cages. From where he stood, Arthur could see well and thought they may have dogs in there. 

The closer he got the more wrong he found out he was. There were people in the cages, all huddled into themselves and whimpering when he got close. 

Some snarled at him, eyes glazed over and not really comprehending that he was freeing them. He quickly started opening the cages after breaking locks with his sword. The people burst out of the small cages one by one, running into the forest at full sprint. 

He got through the cages and looked around to see if he missed any. The hope that he’d find Merlin here had died and Arthur mentall prepared himself to travel for the next couple of weeks if he had too. 

A whimper shook him out of his thoughts and he turned around, breath leaving his lungs when he saw the blue glazed eyes that stared at him. 

It had only been a couple of days but those eyes held years of torment and fear. Arthur dove forward and quickly got the lock off, opening the cage and slowly crawling back to give Merlin room.

The poor boy didn’t budge, not understanding that the cage was open. 

‘Merlin?’ He kept his voice light, like talking to an untamed animal. 

A whimper was his response and Arthur slowly made his way to the boy still huddled up in a cage. 

The blue eyes watched his every move with scared eyes and Arthur took care in showing Merlin he meant no harm. 

His heart hammered out of his chest, disgust filling his veins as he thought about what they did to his manservant to make Merlin like this. 

It took time and patience to get Merlin to slowly crawl out of the cage. Arthur - who typically wasn’t any of those things - only kept reassuring the confused and frightened boy it was okay, he was safe.

Once outside of the cage, Merlin kept curled into a ball and in a fit of unrestrained happiness and worry, Arthur hugged him. Merlin was still for a moment before he slightly hugged back, his eyes losing some glaze and recognizing Arthur.

‘A’rth’r.’ 

‘Shh, Merlin. It’s okay, you’re safe.’ Arthur tried to uncurl Merlin but the boy whimpered and Arthur didn’t want to hurt him more. 

He gently scooped up the light boy and carried him to the horses. Most of the knights were there and all had brilliant smiles on their faces when they saw Merlin. Gwaine looked like he wanted to hug Merlin but held still, noticing how fragile he looked. 

With the help of Gwaine, Arthur managed to get Merlin semi-on his horse and they quickly left the ruined campsite. 

They traveled for an hour or so before stopping. Arthur helped Merlin off the horse, who still seems dazed, not uttering a word. Leon gently put down his roll and they coaxed Merlin into sitting on it. 

The servant curled in on himself and Arthur decided he’d take care of it later. 

Turning around, he gained his knights’ attention and directed them on what they should do. Elyan and Leon would go and restore water and get campfire while Gwaine unpacked and Percival looked for food. 

After the knights had their assigned task, Arthur sat next to Merlin and watched the boy in silence. Somehow Merlin had managed to fall asleep curled up, trying to appear as small as he could even in sleep. 

A sigh escaped him as he thought back to how broken Merlin looked. It would take a lot to get him back to being himself but Arthur was sure he’d get his bright and loud manservant back in no time. 

On instinct, Arthur leaned forward and gently tried to uncurl Merlin from the obvious uncomfortable position. 

It enticed another groan of pain out of Merlin and Arthur felt concern well into his chest. Merlin appeared to look fine except a bruise or two, so why was he groaning in pain when Arthur moved him? 

Arthur tried to rack his brain for any thoughts until a voice sounding suspiciously like Gaius reminded him of what Merlin had been through. 

He had been stuck in a cage barely big enough for him for a maximum of 3 days. Arthur mentall slapped himself as he thought back to all the times his muscles had cramped after sitting at a table for a couple hours. It was painful and even Arthur found himself wanting to cry out in pain if a cramp hit. 

Merlin must be in an absolute world of pain. Arthur shuddered a little and tried to think about what he did to calm his tense muscles. 

Merlin usually got him a concoction from Gaius but that was out of question…

An idea popped into his head that would usually turn Arthur’s cheeks bright red but he couldn’t keep seeing his friend in so much pain. Merlin deserved so much more than what Arthur could give but he’d address that later. 

He carefully took one of Merlin’s arms and slightly moved it, Merlin didn’t make a sound and a sigh of relief escaped the king. 

With gentleness no one had ever seen the king have, Arthur started massaging Merlin’s arm. He worked with purpose and made sure he massaged every part of Merlin’s arm. Moving the arm in different positions while he worked, making sure the muscles got used to different movements.

It seemed to work; Merlin didn’t make a sound and slept peacefully. After finally getting the arm done, Arthur moved to the other side and started working on that arm as well. It was time-consuming and his finger’s already felt sore but Arthur knew he wouldn’t be stopping anytime. 

From a distance, the knights watched with smiles as the king made sure his servant was as comfortable as he could be. The sky was getting darker by the second and one by one they went to bed, not bothering to set up someone to guard; knowing Arthur would stay up. 

They were right, the task took all night but finally Merlin was fully uncurled and stretched out. The last thing he was massaging was Merlin’s feet, which were painfully cramped together. 

The younger boy did groan or wince while he worked on his feet but Arthur shushed him back to sleep. The muscles on the boy’s feet finally gave up it’s fight and relaxed, a smile falling upon Arthur’s face. 

He was tired beyond words but the sun was starting to rise, taunting the king and telling him he would get no sleep until the next night. He didn’t mind, Merlin sleeping peacefully meant more to him without doubt. 

He stood up and stretched himself, he had been hunched over the unconscious boy all night and his own body protested as bones creaked and groaned. A little yawn escaped him but Arthur didn’t pay any mind to it, walking over and feeding the dying embers of their fire. 

Believe it or not but the king could actually cook some decent meals, he efficiently made a little stew that smelled delicious. It apparently smelled so good that it even woke up the knights, all of them breathing in the amazing aroma of stew. 

Each had a shocked expression on their faces when they saw that Arthur was the one who made it but no one said a word. They quickly got their portions and sat down in a ring around the small fire. The sun gave them some warmth but everyone was on edge, waiting to see how Merlin reacted when he woke up. 

The sovereign was never one to wait and took two portions towards the sleeping figure, plopping down and setting the bowls to the side. He shook Merlin until the raven-haired boy woke with a gasp.

The knights watched from the fire with concerned and worried eyes. At first, Merlin looked around in a daze but slowly blinked, the glaze over his eyes finally disappearing.

When he saw who he was with, a bright smile fell upon his lips; it offered more warmth than the sun could ever give. 

Relief was all Arthur felt and he silently offered the bowl of stew to Merlin, who took it and started eating it quickly.

Arthur knew this would happen; he had no idea how long Merlin had gone without food and made sure to make extra. 

Half-way through the bowl, the manservant paused and looked up with a mischievous smile playing on his lips. 

‘Who was the lazy arse that fell asleep while they were supposed to be guarding the camp?’ There was no malice or accusation in his tone, only humour. 

Laughs from the knights and Merlin followed around the camp and they sounded heavenly to Arthur’s ears.

He had never been more happy to hear Merlin’s jokes than in that moment and the sun seemed to shine just a little brighter as the group continued to eat stew and laugh.

**Author's Note:**

> **The End!**
> 
> **This was strictly platonic, I don’t Merlin/Arthur ship :) So fun to write and can’t wait to add other stories to this series!**
> 
> **I’ll be seeing you all in part 4! (I don’t really have set times for when I post these so I apologize but I have no idea when part 4 is coming.)**
> 
> **_Now regarding the Tumblr account! Basically, I've created an account for this Ao3 account. Why does this account matter? Basically, I'll be posting sneak peeks for stories, accepting prompts, possibly creating exclusive drabbles just for Tumblr, dropping extra knowledge/tid-bits about stories (fun-facts), notifying when I post or what my week's schedule looks like, and just being able to talk to Ao3 writers/readers and getting closer to the community!!! My account is: catnip-no-way-man_ **
> 
> **Sincerely,**
> 
> **Catnip? No Way Man.**


End file.
